


Premeditated Stupidity

by roryteller



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Crack, Crack and Angst, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Drunkenness, F/F, Pre-Relationship, Rejection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-29 20:43:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6393112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roryteller/pseuds/roryteller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In despair at her mess of a life, Kara gets drunk and spills more than one secret to Cat.</p><p>Angst/crack (crangst), pre-relationship Supercat with mentions of Kara also being attracted to James. Written before seeing 1x18.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Premeditated Stupidity

**Author's Note:**

> Blame this one on tumblr user yokothetypo, who said:
> 
> What if kara could get drunk but only on the hardest of hard stuff
> 
> And a lot of it
> 
> Ever clear is like a wine cooler to her
> 
> Zha is Kryptonese/Kryptonian for ‘no’ according to http://kryptonian.info/doyle/dictionary.html (may not hold true in TV canon)

Out of the corner of her eye, Cat saw movement on the balcony. She turned to look. She wasn’t surprised to see her assistant there—the girl had seemed moody lately, and employees often took to the balcony to clear their heads. What did surprise her was the glass of something clear in Kara’s hand and the way she seemed to sway slightly in the breeze, as though unsteady on her feet. Kara wasn’t much of a drinker, Cat knew that much, having seen her consume at most one martini in the time it took Cat to drink several.

Cat decided to investigate. She walked up behind Kara, noting the slump—more pronounced than usual—of her shoulders, the blank expression on her face. Glancing at the table behind Kara, Cat spotted a bottle bearing a familiar label. It was about half empty.

“Kiera,” began Cat.

Kara turned to look at Cat. Her eyes were watery, as though she was about to cry, and her face was a bit flushed. “ _Zha,_ ” she said, then blinked, swaying a little. “M’ namesh Kara.”

“Kiera,” repeated Cat, “How much of that stuff have you had?”

Kara frowned and looked at the bottle, then at the glass in her hand. “It,” she began, her voice thick, then took another swig. “It was full when I schtarted. I think.”

 _That’s impossible,_ thought Cat. _Unless…_

“Give that to me,” said Cat.

Kara shook her head. “ _Zha._ No.”

 _Fine._ Cat crossed her arms. “If that really is Everclear, then how are you still standing after almost half a bottle?”

Kara mumbled something.

“Come again?”

“Itsh my meta… metabo… metabolishm.” Then, as though she were saying something incredibly obvious, she added, “Mish Grant, I’m a schpashe alien.”

At any other time, Cat would probably have been overjoyed to hear Kara admit that she was really Supergirl. But right now, her concern for her assistant took precedence.

“Space alien or not, I’m cutting you off,” said Cat, seizing the bottle.

“But…”

“No. If you’re drunk enough not to care about your secret identity, you’re too drunk to work.”

“You drink allllllll the time at work,” said Kara as Cat pried the nearly empty glass from her fingers. “S'not fair.”

“Yes, and I’m the boss. Wait here.” Cat carried the alcohol into her office, then filled a fresh glass with water and carried it back outside. “Water. Drink it,” she commanded.

Kara took the glass somewhat grumpily and took a sip, still leaning on the railing.

“Now, tell me what you’re so upset about that you decided to drink half a bottle of Everclear at work in the middle of the afternoon.”

“The shi- the city, they don’t trust me anymore. And my sishter, Aleksh, I don’t even know where she ish. And, and…” Kara gulped, visibly fighting back tears. “And I think I like you but you won’t even shay my name right!”

“Kara,” said Cat, which was probably a bad idea but Kara looked like she would break into a thousand pieces if she mangled her name even once more and Cat didn’t feel she could stand that. “The city will come around, if you keep working on it. It may take time, and it may not be quite the same as before… but they’ll trust you someday.” She sighed, looking out over the city. They had to trust Supergirl again, not just for Kara’s sake, but for their own. And, selfishly, for CatCo’s… or perhaps even for Cat’s.

Kara nodded, her eyes huge and her mouth pressed into a thin line. She already seemed less flushed than before, though, and Cat wondered how fast her metabolism really was.

“As for your sister… if you need help finding her, I employ some of the best investigative journalists in the country, and they… and I… have connections.”

Kara shook her head, then gave Cat a watery smile. “It’s best if she doesn’t get found until she’s ready. But thank you.” She took another sip of water.

Kara’s last complaint was the hardest to deal with. Over the two years that Cat had known Kara, she’d watched her grow, blossoming into the young woman she saw before her, this mass of contradictions of a girl who looked so frail in that moment, but who was also so strong, who had, from what Cat had gleaned in their conversations, survived so much, without letting it take away her inner light. Cat couldn’t help being fond of her, and she had tried to lie to herself, to make herself believe that’s all it was.

She couldn’t lie to herself anymore, but for both of their sakes, she had better lie to Kara, even though it hurt to do so. Fortunately, Cat was a pretty good liar.

“I don’t feel the same,” she lied, her gaze level, “and it’s not a good idea to get involved with your boss in any case. Or even to confess your feelings to them. There’s too much that could go wrong, even if both of you mean well, which is not always the case… and as the subordinate, you’re usually the one who’s going to suffer if you misjudge their intentions. For a woman, in particular, it invites scandal. You can’t afford that, not this early in your career. And I can’t, either. I have too many enemies.”

Aside from the first part, all of that was true.

Kara blinked, but her eyes were clearer than before. “Forget I said anything,” she said miserably.

“Done,” said Cat, turning to look out over the city.

Then Kara groaned, doubling over, and Cat spun. “Kiera? What’s wrong?”

“My head hurts. And the world is spinning.”

“That sounds like a hangover, but is your metabolism really _that_ fast? It’s only been a couple of minutes since you stopped drinking.”

Kara grimaced at Cat. “Why… do you think… I had to drink half… a bottle… of that stuff.”

“Oh. I’d offer painkillers but…”

“They wouldn’t do much for me.” She pulled herself upright, again, looking a little green around the gills, and rubbed her face with one hand. “I’ll be fine soon.”

* * *

Once Kara sobered up, she just about panicked. She somehow got through the rest of the day without making eye contact with Cat even once, then flew over to the DEO as soon as she could. Once there, she pulled Lucy aside.

“Can we talk? Alone?”

“Sure.” After issuing a few instructions, Lucy followed Kara to one of the interrogation rooms. “So, what’s wrong?”

Kara took a deep breath. “I did something _really_ stupid today. You should know, but try not to bite my head off, all right?”

Lucy raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms. “No promises.”

“Fine, okay. I… I got drunk. At work. And I maaay have told Miss Grant that I’m Supergirl.”

Lucy’s arms dropped to her sides in shock and dismay. “So it took you a major crisis to tell me, but you told the Queen of All Media? Just like that?”

Kara nodded. “It gets worse. I… also told her that Alex is missing. But… I mean, I told her not to follow up on it. And I told her that I have a crush on her, but she turned me down. Which is probably good.”

“Did you tell her anything else? About the DEO, for instance?” There was more than a little alarm and anger in Lucy’s tone.

“No, no,” Kara shook her head. “I swear I didn’t.”

Lucy sighed. “Well, I suppose it could be worse. Wait, you have a crush on Cat Grant? I thought for sure you liked James!”

“I do like him! But yeah, I also like Cat. And James isn’t really… he told me he needed some space, and I’m giving it to him.” She could understand why he had asked for time, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. “I know I messed up, but my life is a disaster right now.”

“And you thought alcohol would help? Wait, don’t answer that. How did you get drunk, anyway?”

“Everclear. The strong kind. About half a bottle.”

Lucy whistled. “Damn, what I wouldn’t do for your metabolism. Wait, the 190-proof stuff is illegal in California.”

Kara gave a sheepish half-smile. “I… may have flown up to Oregon on my lunch break to buy it.”

Lucy shook her head at that. “So, in other words, it was premeditated stupidity. Not to mention a violation of state law.”

“To be fair, it’s not a long trip, for me.”

“You’re not helping your case,” said Lucy. “If you feel the need to get drunk again, at least do it around people who already know your secret, all right? If you were a regular DEO agent, that sort of stunt would be enough to get you fired. Possibly worse.”

Kara nodded. She definitely deserved to be scolded, after all that. “I won’t do it again.” She turned to head back, but Lucy’s hand on her arm stopped her.

“And Kara? The next time you feel that upset, try talking to someone. James, Winn… even me. We… we care about you, and we’ll help, if you let us.”

There was a lump in Kara’s throat, and her “Thank you,” came out almost as a whisper.


End file.
